@kkott - haha Why are you taking this so hard? Take a deep breath, it's quite ok. I said repeatedly that I like what Cig has done yet you keep defending that. What you said was teams with low volume can't possibly have a top 15 class. I clearly provided receipts explaining how that is indeed incorrect. It's that simple. You can move the goal posts to try and make sense of whatever you're crying about but it doesn't change the fact that what I stated was factual.
@yothn I'm not taking it hard, quite the opposite. I'm in the somewhat ridiculous position of having to defend what our staff is doing and trying to explain why HS recruiting is only a piece of the puzzle, and so far, a less important one. The limiting factor is NIL, so every dollar committed to HS recruits, is 1 less that can be spent on portal guys; where we've really built the success of our teams. The # of recruits is sort of irrelevant, unless you're also going to add in the portal guys for future classes, which isn't known yet. I said I can understand being disappointed, but trying to point out the bigger picture: if we had a top 15 class, it would be at the expense of getting the experienced guys who have powered the success we've had. This is already, I believe, the best class we've ever had, with the possibility of still adding our first 5 star ever. Looking at it through that prism, hopefully those who are disappointed, will recognize we're likely improving our foundation and roster even more.
@kkott - Why are you defending the staff? That seems quite unnecessary as no one has criticized the staff. Are you manufacturing a false justification to make your disagreement make sense to you? Everyone understands how NIL works at this point and no one is saying the staff fell short. i have said that in every post, even defended coach. We literally have said on multiple responses that this very well could be by coaches design....still. Do you understand what that means? If so, can we officially put that nonsense to rest?
I am personally quite alright using the portal over HS recruiting, but again, that isn't what was said or what you were defending. Thats just something you created to divert from what you were wrong about. I simply said based on what we had on campus and after the year we had, it's VERY conceivable that someone would think we were going to have a better high school class that we have at this point. That isn't a dig at what we have. I am STILL fine with what we have. Hell, don't take my word for it, take it from national publications.
My guess is the old guard is actively working to limit what IU has done & how they have done it so as to take our feet out from under us. No way they allow Indiana into their club to stay. If that means limiting the number of portal adds, they’ll do it.
Yes, I love conspiracy theories 😎
Are we back into the conversation with Monsanto Torbert (sp) ? I see on 247 our status is back to warm and he is making a decision on 7/1.
@it-will-do I haven’t heard anything. When I’ve looked at profiles on 247 it usually lists places they’ve taken officials as warm. Monsanna also put IU in his top 3, so maybe that caused the change.
My personal opinion of Locksley is many times he's the kerosene in the soup. Wouldn't want him in Bloomington except for a Friday night.
@it-will-do sounds like Michigan dropped a bag. Ohio state wants him but they won’t overpay. This is all strong speculation but looking like it’s Michigan.
@yothn criticizing the results is criticizing the staff and it's approach, imo. As has been said, it's really pointless to talk about the ranking of a HS class, without taking into account what they are doing through the portal, where we've been ranked as high as 1 and top 10 across the board this year. I acknowledge you can get to a top 15 class with 14-16 recruits, but it would be at the expense of retaining players or signing experienced ones, which our staff has prioritized, and is really the only way to play the game for IU. It's why I think Cignetti has had so many interviews recently, to trumpet that the HS market for good players isn't sustainable. It points out the flaws in the rankings even further when our ranking drops, fairly significantly, because we signed Pugh. So again, I ask: "do you prefer to pay the price to get a top 15 HS class if it means sacrificing signing a couple portal players who could help immediately"? If so, no complaining with 7-5 or 8-4 for a couple seasons. Does anyone think that's better? Be happy with the fact that each year, or talent level appears to be rising so we are moving down the path Cignetti described of building the foundation through HS recruiting, it just may not be at the speed or extent he envisioned because the NIL $$ they command has risen so much.
Spending money on 3-4 star guys, that fit the profiles of what Cig is looking for, and have a higher chance of staying in Bloomington more than 1 year... and then spending larger percentages of overall budget on portal guys... is a good way to stay "old". Of which, I'm quite certain Cignetti aims to always do, if he can. The whole dynamic changes pretty quickly when you lay out too much cash on 4-5 star kids, that come with freshman playing time expectations. I think Sales is a very rare exception to this, as he's in our backyard, and an apparent generational talent. Overspending on guys like Brewster, maybe a guy like Bryce Underwood was/is... likely will never happen under Cig's watch.
@kkott - So what you're saying is what I said. That it likely could be by design. You could just respond, "I agree with you."
@yothn what I disagreed with you on is that you said it was understandable why folks would be disappointed in this class; already I believe the best HS class we've ever had, with Sales and maybe another spot or 2 still to be decided. I've pointed out multiple times that you can't analyze the HS class on it's own, without considering what retainage and the portal class look like. It's like saying I want a luxury car and then only analyzing the transmission. Yes, you are correct: it is possible to have a top 10 class with 14-16 players. Seems you will never answer if you want that at the expense of retaining or signing experienced players, which really provides your answer. And, having a top 15 class is even less important when you drop several spots by signing a guy like Pugh who seems exactly the "diamond in the rough" this staff has excelled at and who everyone seems to love once they've watched his film. So, while I understand people being disappointed, I think it's uninformed and dumb.
@iunorth Seems they are treating Sales as a proven player already, so that's why they're breaking form and willing to pay him more than other freshmen. And, makes sense if you are expecting to plug him in in a starting spot next year.
@kkott - 🤣 You keep talking in circles and none of it has anything to do with what I have said and continue to say.
I provided proof that people have that opinion. Do they not? That ends the debate. I never said I agreed with it but to sit back and say a team that has a national title is ranked 10th and 13th respectively, just in its own conference based on arbitrary data......it's easy to clearly understand that there are going to be people (regardless of their in-depth analysis of classes) who are disappointed. Whether or not they are correct in doing so or whether or not the data is valid or pointless isn't part of the discussion as I have said repeatedly that I like this class. Period. Right, wrong or indifferent, it doesn't change the fact that its most certainly not shocking people would come to that conclusion. What's most shocking here is your lack of reading comprehension.
Congrats, you both win the argument.
anyone have tylenol?